Colombian Solar Developer Erco Energía Raises $129 Million USD in a Series-C Co-led by Ventures EPM

Norfund and Augment Infrastructure Also Backed the Erco Round

Colombian solar developer Erco Energía has closed a Series C capital increase of $129 million USD. Next Utility Ventures — a private equity fund inside the Ventures EPM program of Medellín utility Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM), and managed by Spanish investment firm Axon Partners Group (BME Growth: APG) — co-led the round.

EPM announced its role in a bulletin dated August 14, 2026, after what it described as several months of negotiation. The utility did not disclose the size of the round or its own contribution. The $129 million USD figure was reported the previous day by El Colombiano and Valora Analitik, which placed the round among the largest equity raises announced by a Colombian company in 2026, and Axon confirmed it in an announcement published the same day as EPM’s bulletin.

El Colombiano reported that four funds took part: Next Utility Ventures, Augment Infrastructure, Norfund and Endeavor Catalyst, the co-investment fund of Endeavor. Augment Infrastructure, which El Colombiano reported is US-based, calls itself a founder-led manager investing in sustainable infrastructure, mostly in emerging markets, across power, water and sanitation, telecom infrastructure and transport. Norfund identifies itself as the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries and is owned and funded by the Norwegian government. Axon’s announcement names Augment Infrastructure and Norfund but does not mention Endeavor Catalyst, and EPM’s bulletin names no investor beyond Next Utility Ventures and Axon.

Valora Analitik reported that the proceeds are earmarked for developing energy projects in several regions of Colombia. El Colombiano reported that those projects will expand distributed generation capacity — solar power produced close to where it is consumed, on the roofs of homes, businesses and industrial plants — and that in a system heavily dependent on hydroelectricity, added solar reduces the risk when reservoir levels fall.

Luis Fernando Gómez, finance director at Erco Energía, said in remarks reported by Valora Analitik that the operation reaffirms the company’s purpose of being “a vehicle of growth and energy prosperity for Colombia, a country with enormous potential in energy,” and that the new capital will let Erco “continue building infrastructure, sustainability and growth for the nation and for Colombians.”

The Investors’ History With Erco

EPM’s involvement in Erco dates to 2016, when Ventures EPM made its first investment during the company’s Series A. EPM says it has since supplied capital and worked to strengthen the developer’s technical and commercial capabilities. Ventures EPM is the corporate venture capital arm of Grupo EPM and invests in startups and growth-stage companies tied to the energy transition, the circular economy and smart territories; EPM puts its active portfolio at 26 companies.

Erco and EPM have also worked together since 2018 on solar solutions for homes, industry and retail businesses across Colombia. EPM puts that joint portfolio — completed projects, projects under construction and installations tied to long-term energy sales contracts — at close to 64 MWp.

Sebastián Méndez Agudelo, corporate director of acquisitions, mergers and divestitures at Grupo EPM, said the capital increase “is of vital importance because it demonstrates that companies supporting the energy transition can be created and consolidated in Colombia. It also shows the value of alliances between emerging companies and large corporations to accelerate innovation, drive business development and give form to a shared vision of sustainable, long-term growth for the transformation of the country’s business fabric.”

Axon runs an investment business alongside a strategic consulting practice and has been listed on BME Growth, the Spanish market for growth companies, since 2022. Axon says it has backed Erco since the company’s Series B. Nicolás Ríos, a partner at the firm and head of its sustainability and climate tech strategy for Latin America, said the transaction “confirms that climate-tech and the energy transition have become a mature investment thesis in Latin America, one capable of delivering returns alongside real impact.”

What Erco Does

Erco was founded in Medellín in 2011. It builds, owns and runs renewable generation and storage assets under an independent power producer model, and its business also covers digital trading of clean electricity, energy efficiency, electric mobility, electrification and asset management. Axon puts Erco’s record at more than 2,600 projects built and installed capacity above 450 MWp, most of it in Colombia; Erco’s own website cites more than 4,000 projects executed and more than 320 MWp installed or under construction.

The Andes Project

Erco and EPM are jointly developing Andes, a roughly 400 MWp solar plant, with an unnamed European investor. When EPM announced the agreement on December 3, 2025, it put the construction cost at up to $400 million USD, said the capacity would go to Colombia’s Sistema Interconectado Nacional (National Interconnected System), and said a solar project of that size can supply a city of about 364,000 people. Under the structure, EPM commits to a long-term power purchase agreement and, once technical milestones and applicable regulatory and financial conditions are met, will fund the acquisition of a majority stake; Erco and the European investor are to hold minority positions over the long term.

In the December 2025 announcement, EPM General Manager John Maya Salazar said Colombia “has a need for new generation projects to close the gap that exists today between supply and demand and in that way contribute to mitigating the risk of a blackout, in the face of a possible El Niño phenomenon in the coming years.”